Kashmir Diaries Part 1

My flight was from Bombay to Srinagar, via Jammu. The moment I landed in Srinagar and as soon as I stepped out from the aircraft, I spotted snow clad mountains all around me. Now, this was my first ever north trip. As I mentioned in my first post, I had not travelled much before this. Thus it was quite new to me. My first destination was Gulmarg. Unlike what most tourists do, my base was not in Srinagar. I was going to stay in Gulmarg for three days. Now, Gulmarg is around 60 odd kms from Srinagar Airport. And my resort was located 25 kms further. I had heard a lot about Kashmir roads and I was looking forward to travel as much as I could. And I was not disappointed. It was drizzling, the roads didn't have much traffic and weather was pleasant.

On my way from Srinagar to Gulmarg

Now, more than this, I was looking forward to the ghaats. And they didn't disappoint me at all. The views were breathtaking to say the least, the landscapes were so beautiful that all you need to do is click anywhere blindly and it's a wallpaper material picture. Posting a few here:

Somewhere on the Gulmarg ghats

Valley point on Gulmarg ghats

Gulmarg is a very beautiful place. And I am glad that I stayed there instead of going there for a visit to see touristy places. My room was surrounded by grass fields and mountains. I woke up to beautiful views every morning. I did all the typical things there like going for the cable car to experience the snow (the only attraction offered in Gulmarg), horse ride to nearby places. And I also went for walks around the place. There is nothing to see there, just beautiful landscapes everywhere. Even when you are sitting in the room, you are staring outside all the time.

Here are some more pictures. Room view:

En route to Gondola for Cable car and up there:

Gulmarg Market surroundings:

I visited my driver's house in Gulmarg. His wife made me Khawa and offered some walnuts to eat. His house was located in the Gulmarg town. We had to travel for 25 kms to reach there. It was a typical small town house, with huge rooms, simple lifestyle, almost no furniture and beautiful surroundings. I interacted with his family, his neighbours. They all were very warm people and most of them knew a lot about politics and current affairs. Most of the people living there, tourism is one business that fetches them some money. They like their independence and wouldn't want to be a part of any war.

Here are some more pictures of Gulmarg:

Khawa I had at driver's place

Their Kitchen

This was a typical scene on Kashmir roads. Spotted this almost everywhere I went.

Clicked from my resort.

This was Gulmarg. It's a perfect place if you are looking for a quiet holiday away from everything and amidst the nature. I was slightly unlucky as it kept raining every now and then. But it didn't spoil its beauty for me.